After Backlash, Assam BJP Deletes Himanta Sarma's AI Video; Congress Alleges ‘Genocide Call’

Last Updated:February 08, 2026, 22:18 IST

A deleted Assam BJP video showing CM Himanta shooting at photos sparked outrage, with Congress, TMC, and CPI(M) accusing BJP of promoting hatred.

A video posted by the Assam BJP showing  Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma appearing to shoot at framed photographs of men in skullcaps, one resembling Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, has triggered a political storm, with Opposition parties accusing the ruling party of promoting hatred and calling it a “call to genocide".

The video, uploaded on Saturday on the Assam BJP’s official social media handle on X with the caption “Point blank shot", showed Sarma aiming a rifle at photographs pinned to a wall bearing the words “No mercy". It ended with an image of the chief minister styled as a gunman, alongside phrases such as “No mercy to Bangladeshis", “Why did you go to Pakistan?" and “Foreigner-free Assam". Following widespread backlash, the post was deleted.

The Congress was among the first to react, with party general secretary K C Venugopal calling the video “nothing but a call to genocide". He said the content could not be dismissed as troll material and urged the judiciary to take action, alleging that such messaging reflected “poison spread from the very top".

In a separate statement, Congress said the video appeared to glorify the “targeted, point-blank murder of minorities" and amounted to an open call for mass violence. “It is deeply abhorrent and disturbing and reflects the true face of a fascist regime that has sought to normalise hatred over the years," the party said.

Reacting sharply to the controversy, Congress leader Supriya Shrinate said merely deleting the video was “not enough", alleging that it showed Himanta Biswa Sarma “shooting Muslim men" with the caption “POINT BLANK SHOT". In a post on X, she accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of promoting “venom, hatred and violence", holding Narendra Modi responsible, and questioned whether courts and other institutions were “sleeping" amid what she called a dangerous escalation.

The Trinamool Congress (TMC)  also condemned the video, describing it as a “green signal for genocide and mass murder". The party said the clip reduced Indian politics to “performative bloodlust, normalised hatred and televised dehumanisation of Muslims", accusing the BJP of deliberately inciting communal polarisation.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) termed the video an “open call for ethnic cleansing and genocide", alleging that the Assam government was using the narrative of “infiltrators" to justify targeted hostility against Muslims. The CPI(M) demanded immediate intervention by the Supreme Court of India, warning that communal harmony in the state was at risk.

Responding to media queries after the post was taken down, Assam BJP spokesperson Ranjib Kumar Sarma declined to comment, saying there was “nothing to say" as the video had been deleted. BJP’s Assam social media convener Biswajit Khound also refused to comment, noting only that the party’s social media team comprises several young members.

The controversy has revived scrutiny of the Assam BJP’s online content. Last year, the same handle had posted an AI-generated video depicting a dystopian “Assam without BJP", featuring visuals widely criticised as communal. The post was later challenged in court, prompting the Supreme Court to issue a notice seeking its removal.

Opposition parties have now demanded criminal action, Election Commission intervention and judicial scrutiny, arguing that the latest video crosses constitutional and moral red lines.

News india After Backlash, Assam BJP Deletes Himanta Sarma's AI Video; Congress Alleges ‘Genocide Call’

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